Why Are the Turn Signals On Our Cars Red or Orange? 

There are many things in life that we take for granted, and that is definitely true when it comes to our cars. For instance, why do cars have four wheels instead of three? Or, why do we use a steering wheel to control or cars and not a joystick? 

If you spend some time thinking about it, you can probably come up with answers to some of those questions that make some sense. But, what about the blinkers, or turn signals on our cars? While are those always red or orange? Can they be a different color? 

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Do Turn Signals Have to Be a Certain Color? 

For a long time, red was the color of choice for turn signals in the United States, and you’ll see that on many older vehicles.  

More modern vehicles, however, have been using an orange color for the turn signal and red for the brake lights. Why? Well, it turns out the orange color actually is easier to notice than the red when it comes to the blinker. It’s not required that cars use orange, but apparently the color helps. 

So, why these colors? Well, there isn’t any definitive explanation. Most likely, however, red was chosen as the color for brake lights and blinker due to the fact that red is a color often used to signal danger or caution. After all, stop lights use red to tell you when to stop. So, it makes sense for red to be used on the back of your vehicle to let other drivers know they need to stop of slow down. 

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For more fun automotive trivia or insights, be sure to check back to our website blog in the future.